Large, two floor thrift store. Similar to the other Inspirations locations, this one had great brands and all of the clothes were in good condition. The main floor is women's clothing and shoes, the floor below is children's and men's clothing. I was especially struck by the shoe section at this location as I found a pair of Sam Edelman boots and a bunch of Uggs! This location has a handful of dressing rooms which is helpful when thrifting. Again, like the other locations, prices are higher here than Goodwill type thrift stores, but I think it's worth it because the merchandise is trendy and in nice condition! Definitely worth stopping in! read more

Good selection and prices. Better thrifting experience than the chaotic scenes at other local players.

Overpriced! Is this a thrift store or a cheap wannabe boutique? This store is not for the savvy second-hand buyer - one who is thoroughly familiar with the current market value of clothes, toys, shoes, books, pocketbooks and household items to name a few. I've been coming to this thrift store for a few years now and the prices have creeped up to about 5x what they were in such a short period of time. I saw an Our Generation doll. That type of doll is an off-brand of American Girl. She was only worth about $2-$5 used and they wanted $14 for that doll. You can purchase the doll brand new for that price in certain places. The price for that doll was just one representation of how this store will simply "try it." I left the doll on the shelf but I spotted a dress that I felt I "had to have." It was half off so at $4.00 I couldn't resist. I took it to the register to pay but realized I couldn't use my charge card unless I had at least a $10 purchase. So back in the store I went to browse and find another item. I saw about 4 articles of clothing I really liked. Their fitting room is not open for use due to Covid. I tried on the garments by pulling them over my own clothes. I became very much frustrated at the prices of those clothes. After looking at the prices - $14 for a cheap off brand shirt, $20 for an off- brand dress, and it goes on. I actually put the clothes right back on the rack and walked out. Dear Inspirations: Your prices are way too high for some of the items you sell. Who are you trying to fool? Adjust your pricing to what's fair and accurate for each respective item. It's only fair to your dedicated customers that have continued to support you throughout your time in Union and your new customers - the ones who discover your establishment on a day-to-day basis and walk in to peruse your many second-hand items which should be better-priced. My visit today was the last straw. I'm not going back. read more

Inspirations Family - Thrift Stores Near Me - Union, New Jersey

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The prices are sometimes higher than they should be. I have found nice clothes there. Most of the staff are not nice. I believe somewhat racist. Unfortunately, it's becoming more common. I don't visit as often anymore. Also they charged a fee for using debit card which is something new. The three star is because the quality of most items are good. I probably will visit Unique on Route 22 more, who doesn't charge a fee and a lot nicer. The downside is no fitting rooms. read more

Inspirations on Stuyvesant Ave in Union NJ is well organized and if you have patience you can find well priced items - HOWEVER . . . It's not worth shopping there as the staff there is highly rude! The downstairs closes at 630pm and the store closing is at 7pm as posted on the door and on the internet. The closing time is listed on the wall by the stairs. At 630 it's expected that customers leave downstairs and I have always respected that - I have noted that they are corralling people out and noted they were rude however I experienced first hand how awfully they treat customers. It was 6:25, by my iPhone, today and I was told that the downstairs was closed. A dark haired woman claiming to be the manager asked that everyone leave the downstairs. When I told her that the sign said 6:30pm she said "her clock says 630". So for 5 minutes you have effectively lost my business and anyone I speak to in the thrifting community in North NJ. For 5 minutes?? A terrible customer service move. I asked her to show me her "time forward" clock and she said she didn't have to because she is the manager and she was asking me to leave. We shared a back and forth in which I told her she was wrong for kicking customers out before the posted closing time. I spoke with another staff who said she does not get paid for staying after 7pm (the closing time for the upstairs). So essentially the customers are getting pushed out of the store because the owners don't pay them for staying an a minute after closing?? Because I spoke up, many of the customers spoke out expressing the same sentiment of literally being asked to leave before the posted closing of the store. I also asked the cashier for the managers name and she told me to ask her myself. Just so rude. I have been to this store numerous times and today is the last time I or anyone I know will spend money at this location. Times are already financially tough and there is no need to spend hard earn money at an establishment that disrespects their customers. There are several thrift stores with much kinder and respectful staff in the Union County -, 2nd Ave value stores, in Union. Unique in Elizabeth and Union. This inspirations will never see my dollars again. In fact , if I discover they are owned by the same company I will never shop at any Inspiration store again. If you've been there and have shared the same experience, please comment and take your business elsewhere. * Interestingly, the staff at inspirations in Elizabeth are so much nicer. So perhaps the manager at the Union store is the issue. read more

We were in Union grabbing some breakfast and we stumbled upon this place. I really like the location of this place because it is close to everything you need and union. What I love about this place is how big it is and you can definitely get lost. Make sure you check the color specials because depending on the color of the tag it'll tell you what the discount is. The men's department is on the bottom and they have so many things. What was great is that my wife had her shoes messed up recently and we walked into this place and found some better shoes for her. She was really impressed with the price and she was really impressed with the quality. You can tell they bring in good quality stuff and they are picky about the type of items they bring in. read more

Always find great quality, affordable, and clean clothes here. One of my favorite thrift stores ever.

Inspiration is more of a consignment shop than an outlet store. You will find name brand new and gently used items (clothing, shoes, accessories, books, etc.) at extremely (I stress extremely) affordable prices. Everytime I go there I easily spend between $35 - $50 and walk out of there with 6 - 10 pieces; and they are mostly new items. The store is clean, the staff is friendly, dressing rooms are available, and all clothing racks are very organized as well as the accessories. They have a large selection of handbags and shoes. Inspiration was a cash only business until recently. They now accept credit/debit card purchases, but it must be over $10. My only complaint is that the shoes are not organized by size, but otherwise, this is one of my favorite local places to shop at. I always walk away with something fabulous, and never have buyers remorse. read more

You can hit the jackpot or you can miss completely. Most of the time I only get brand new stuff with the manufacturer tag on it. The downside is they price them by brand as well. The kids department will have brand new clothes and nice one. I never find any shoes to my like or size. As far as customer service there's none. They don't answer question or talk to you. Maybe it is because most don't speak English and the ones who do speak English are the cashiers with the attitude. They are usually younger and stinking attitude like they are doing you a favor. If you can pass that snd you have patience, I am sure you will find something. read more

Amazing finds! Incredibly organized also it's cash only, there's an ATM inside if needed

I feel this is a store that people give clothing to. The price is worser than the Salvation Army. There are no African American employees. There are no White employees. I was treated not welome. As if blacks are not wanted. I visted 3 stores the employees are nasty. Union, Linden,Rahway stores. I talked to the owner one day she was very nasty. Horrible, how are you gonna treat a customer like that and you need customer to buy. These are clothes that are given to you. Like Really! Then I found out this is the same store as Mango,s the same owner. Wow ! I will never tell anyone to go there again .Bad! Bad! Bad! read more

When the Rahway store first opened, it was THE JAM!!!! tons of great items, even older Coach bags for $8. Slowly, the merchandise dwindled, the prices went up and they started a red tag half price thing. Only thing is, the better stuff all had blue tags. On the weekend of the MLK holiday, they had a blue tag sale. The day before, one of the workers took down all the really nice purses that had blue tags, as I was in the store. When it opened Friday, most of those purses were retagged with red or not there at all. Many clothing items were retagged with red as well. Not cool. They had carts and carts of merchandise they didn't put out and I guessed it was till after the sale. Not slick. Lots of the items have been hanging there since they opened because they are never on sale and too costly. I still find good bargains, however, but wanted to post they are NOT SLICK. UPDATE: Well, two weeks later and they are upping prices again. A bag with a few skeins of yarn was $1.25 and now it's 4.50. They have two crates of them and none are priced affordable. Why did they do this???? I was loving this store! read more

I will give a great review even though I don't want to because I want ALL the items for me. . Lol. . I felt i was stealing as I saw the savings. .OMG! WHY WOULD ANYONE BUY AT DEPARTMENT STORES IF YOU HAVE THIS STORE. I lovvvve it! !! read more

I will say it is an organized store and my full of clutter. The previous review was correct regarding the shoes. Now I'm not a high end girl, but I can do very well at budget shopping...now my shoe game is nice. I was not pleased. I can appreciate the second hand stores like Unique, but as wth this it is a glorified thrift store of regular stuff. Nothing really stood out...I walked it with the same thing I walked out with...myself. Wouldn't break your neck to come by. Just my opinion. read more

Terrific buys at times. But the Manager Joanna is extremely rude and actually cheated me out of a $1 when you try to talk to her she is NASTY. We spend $100's a week in this store. They need to do something about her. Others have said the same thing about HER. read more

This is a very good thrift store especially when they run percent sales off prices. You get a lot for your money. Sometimes things are a little overpriced. They are cheaper than Unique's in Union. However, the staff is friendly enough, but you can tell they don't want to be there and they will close downstairs earlier than stated because they really want to get out of there. They are constantly cleaning around you which can be very uncomfortable for a customer. You have a sense of feeling rushed. I ignore them, but it's not good customer service. read more